Product Name: 【Dehua Kiln】Plant ash tea set

Origin:Dehua County, Fujian Province

Material:Ceramic

Sku:Three options are available

The Dehua Kiln is one of the famous folk kilns in ancient times, and its site is located in Dehua County, Fujian Province today. With its unique white porcelain craftsmanship and exquisite porcelain sculpting art, the Dehua Kiln occupies an important position in the history of Chinese ceramics and has had a profound impact on the development of ceramic art both at home and abroad. In 2021, the Dehua Kiln, together with other related sites in Quanzhou, was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

1.Artistic Features

*Excellent Porcelain Quality: The body and glaze of Dehua Kiln porcelain are integrated as a whole, smooth and delicate like jade and fat. The white porcelain produced here has a low iron content and a high potassium content in its porcelain quality, so it can be fired into a warm white or light ivory color in an oxidizing atmosphere.

*Exquisite Sculpture: The porcelain sculptures of the Dehua Kiln are extremely famous. The figures sculpted are vivid in character, graceful in shape, lifelike in expression, and refined in style, possessing a simple beauty of sculpture and the texture beauty of raw materials. In particular, the works of masters such as He Chaozong in the Ming Dynasty are even hailed as the “pearls on the international ceramic stage”.

*Diverse Decoration: Besides sculptural works, other utensils from the Dehua Kiln also have a rich variety of decorative techniques, such as carving, printing, and appliqué, with a wide range of pattern themes including flowers, animals, and stories about figures.

2.Influence

*Widespread Export: Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Dehua Kiln has always been market-oriented, with a large number of its products being exported. It is one of the important production areas of ancient export porcelain along the coast of Fujian. The Italian traveler Marco Polo mentioned the Dehua Kiln and its porcelain in his travel notes during the Yuan Dynasty. Dehua porcelain has a wide influence in Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and other places, enjoying the reputation of “Oriental Art” overseas, and Westerners call it “blanc de china”.

*Cultural Exchange: The export of Dehua Kiln porcelain has promoted cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The shapes and decorations of its porcelain have also been influenced by foreign cultures, while at the same time spreading Chinese ceramic culture and art.

3.Excavation of Kiln Sites

There are numerous kiln sites of the Dehua Kiln. Up to now, 180 kiln sites from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty have been discovered. Among them, the Qudougong and Wanpinglun kiln sites are the key objects of excavation. The Qudougong kiln site is a compartmented dragon kiln, which is a transitional form from the dragon kiln to the stepped kiln, reflecting the progress and development of kiln furnace technology during the Song and Yuan dynasties.